EMPEROR. But he may have held the dog there, my lad.

PIERRE. Not while he was picking berries, sire.

EMPEROR. So our enemy picked berries, did he?

PIERRE. Yes, sire, the dog lying by the bushes all the while.

EMPEROR. Do you think we could capture this man?

PIERRE. Yes, sire, for he was very tired.

EMPEROR. How do you know that?

PIERRE. He climbed down the banks of every small stream. I should have
leaped them.

EMPEROR. You think it would be an easy matter, then, to follow and capture
him?

PIERRE. Not easy, sire, for he was always on the lookout.

EMPEROR. How do you know that?

PIERRE. Whenever he reached a clear space, he went to one side, hiding
behind trees to look ahead. Then he ran across the open.

EMPEROR. Your proof of this, my lad?

PIERRE. His footprints in every clear space showed only the balls of the